Tag: Christian living

Digging in Deeper: Romans 12:19

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Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What do you do when you can’t decide between two options? If possible, you choose both. This past week I finished watching a miniseries and finally watched a movie that first came out a couple of months ago. I had always planned to write a review of both once I finished watching them. I hadn’t planned on finishing both in the same week. And yet, as I have gone back and forth on which one to write about first, it became clearer and clearer that they both covered a whole lot of the same theological ground, although from different directions. Trying to treat them separately just didn’t make sense. Today, then, we are going to span two totally different media universes and talk about the recently completed Marvel series, Moon Knight, as well as the fairly recent latest offering from DC Comics, The Batman, and see how two different visions of the world reveal the Gospel is still the greatest vision of reality there is.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 2:2-3

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“For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever read a note meant for another person? There’s a good chance that note made reference to things you weren’t able to fully understand without some additional context. Often, reading things in the Scriptures can be a little like that. We can understand all the words (at least, we can once they’ve been carefully translated into the language we actually speak), but without additional context, it is not immediately apparent what they are talking about. Let’s add some more context to what we see here to make sure you understand it.

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 2:1

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“For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever wanted to quit something? I remember being asked by a neighbor once to do some yardwork for him while he was out of town. He wanted me to take out some weed grass in his yard. He was going to pay me for it, and I enjoy detailed, tedious work, but it was too much even for me. I got about halfway through and was ready to quit. It was much harder than I expected it to be. Following Jesus is no small task either, and the audience of the author of Hebrews was struggling with it. As a result, he encouraged them to stick with it. Let’s learn from their lesson today.

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What Is the Bible Anyway?

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This week we kick off a brand-new teaching series. For the next four weeks, we are going to be talking about how to read the Bible. We’re going to talk about how to read it, why to read it, and what it even is in the first place. If you have ever felt like you didn’t really know what you were doing when it came to trying to read or study it, this is going to be a great series for you. Listen and share it with a friend who’s asking the same questions. You’ll be glad you did.

What Is the Bible Anyway?

If you are someone who’s been around the church for a little while, have you ever been told before that you should read your Bible? If you’re someone who hasn’t been around the church for all that long, do you remember ever being told by a well-meaning believer that you should read your Bible? Okay, here’s a follow-up question for both groups of people: Did you go from there and heed that counsel? I did. The reason I engage with the Scriptures on a daily basis today is because when I was about 13-years-old, two volunteers with my church youth group (who were both men in their late-50s or early-60s—if you find yourself in or near that category and you are not volunteering with our students, you are missing out on the opportunity to change someone’s life forever; case in point: I probably wouldn’t be a pastor today unless I had started reading my Bible all those years ago because those two men told me I should) told me that I should be reading my Bible every day and that if I did it for 21 days in a row, it would become a habit. I did and…it did. If you were another one of those folks who took that advice and started reading your Bible, did you know what you were doing when you got started? I didn’t, and I suspect there’s a pretty good chance that you didn’t either. 

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Pressing On

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This week finds us between sermon series. We just finished one last week and will start a new one next week (on how to study the Bible, so don’t miss that!). That means this week was a freebie. Well, given that last week was Easter, and given our great tendency to settle back into our old ruts after we make it past a major spiritual milestone like that, this week we’re talking about what to do when Easter has come and gone. With the help of the author of Hebrews, we are talking about pressing on when things get long. Come for the encouragement, stay for the challenges at the end which although specific to my church, can probably be adapted and applied to every church. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Pressing On

Do we have any runners in here? Do we have anyone who used to be a runner? How about anyone who once entertained the notion of being a runner (just before settling in for another doughnut while laughing hysterically at the idea)? Although I dare not claim that title any longer, there was a time when I was a runner. I was okay; not great. But I did enjoy it. I think what I enjoyed most was not the actual team cross country practices, but the weeks I spent running on my own after school once the season ended—especially when it was cold. Those were the days I felt like I could run forever without getting tired. I remember the summer I put in 500 miles so I could get a patch on my letterman jacket. Eight miles was typically about the most I ever ran. I did a few longer runs of eleven miles, but that was about it. 

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